Brown Shoes Fine Any Time

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

I happened to mention to my wife that wearing brown shoes to a social function after 6:00 P.M. was not appropriate. She said that she had never heard of this and would like an opinion from a respectable source. What is your opinion on this, and is this an old fashioned notion?

Signed,

Need backup

Dear Need backup,

Sorry, but your wife is correct. There is no rule against wearing brown shoes after 6pm. However, there used to be a rule against wearing brown shoes with dark suit colors, such as navy blue, but that is an outmoded concept. Just be sure that the brown shoes are dark brown. The idea of no brown shoes after 6pm might be confused with the old etiquette rule of no tuxedos before 6pm.